Hurricane Sandy Updates

First pulse of Sandy Swell on Sunday. Good fun before the beach got swallowed 24 hrs later. 

Good morning to all reading this. To those that can't because you have no power, internet, or cell service, I feel for you. I am writing from a friend's apartment in Brooklyn. Here's my Sandy story: I surfed on Sunday (see pic above) and the waves were incredibly fun. Definitely the most powerful surf I've paddled in since Hurricane Ike (which nearly or maybe did break my nose). When I pulled up to Long Beach townspeople were scrambling to get sand into bags and the parking lots were jam packed with seekers of aquatic thrills. I had been texting my surf buddies all morning. They had all got to the beach at 7am. I didn't want to mess with that bombing early am high tide and so I wasn't motivated to surf at all. But then around 8:45am my friend Tyler sent an irresistible shot of a righthand barrel and I jumped in the whip solo and sped east. I had a dream session. Caught ten waves or so in the course of an hour and a half and managed to never get worked—I did get barreled and I did get a wave the length of the beach with all of my friends watching. I had no clue when the storm was to set in and wanted to avoid trouble, so I considered that a job well done and drove back to the city. I couldn't do any philosophy work. I just followed Sandy predictions on Facebook and the Weather Channel. It clearly didn't hit Sunday night (so then kicked myself for a few hours because I probably should have surfed again). Then Monday morning I also knew there was surf, but was too worried about stranding my vehicle or getting caught in the middle of the impending doom. Plus that mega tide was messing with things early again. Knowing what I know now, I guess I could have attempted to surf Coney Island around 11am, but still maybe too sketchy. I stayed in Manhattan and once again followed the news on the net. I kept all electronic devices plugged in and downloaded three episodes of the newest season of Boardwalk Empire (ironic to say the least). My girl and I went for a walk around 5pm to get a feel for the strength of the system. We had slices at Gino's on Christopher. Never knew they made such good pizza. Then walked down in our rain boots to the see the Hudson entering the West Side Hwy. Mini waves lapped through the railings and walk bridges became submerged quickly. The storm still hadn't officially hit. After a lengthy stroll around the hood we were hit by a few big gusts. At that point we went home for the duration of the storm. The building shook at the biggest blasts. Power went out at 8pm. We got through the third episode of Bwalk and the computer died. We awoke on Tuesday to downed trees. The car was/is fine. No damage to our property unlike many others who were closer to the water. We spent Tuesday at Buvette restaurant, which is owned by our good friend, and "helped" them get rid of food that was going to go bad. After another night without power and reception, yesterday (Wednesday) we decided to take up our friend's offer to stay in Brooklyn. So we packed the car with a few things and headed over the Williamsburg Bridge. We realize now that we forgot a few things over there (my surfboards!, my girl's glasses, and some other stuff), but can't go back in the car because traffic is so gnarly. So for now we're "stuck" in Brooklyn. We may, however, try to head back in later, but still not sure if it's worth it. Just may wait for power to be restored. There are a few more things I want to update about—the surf retreat I'm planning in Costa Rica, whether it's safe for us to surf right now due to water quality, and yet another slight name change (Conatus Surf Club)—but this post is long enough for now. I'll get back about all those in a bit. Be safe everyone and say whatever kind of prayer you may say for those that have lost everything.